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Loading …Keir Starmer has been urged to “save supported housing” in England in the face of a “financial crisis” facing the sector.
The call came in a letter to the prime minister and chancellor Rachel Reeves from the leaders of over 150 social care, housing, voluntary sector and local government organisations delivered last week.
Years of funding cuts amid rising costs and increasing demand had left many services “unviable”, they said.
As of June 2024, one in three providers had closed services in the previous year, while 60% anticipated shutting services in future, according to research by sector umbrella body the National Housing Federation.
What is supported housing?
Supported housing is an umbrella term for services that provide accommodation alongside support, supervision and care to promote independence for older people, those with physical or learning disabilities, people with mental health or substance misuse problems, autistic people, care leavers, those at risk of homelessness and people fleeing domestic abuse.
According to a review of the sector by the previous government, which reported in 2023:
- There were an estimated 634,000 supported housing units in Great Britain at the time, with 535,000 in England.
- 423,100 (67%) were housing for older people, 126,500 (20%) were for short-term or transitional provision and 84,300 (13%) were housing for disabled people of working age.
- About 38% of supported housing was commissioned or funded by local authorities or statutory bodies, though this ranged from 16% in the older people’s sector to over 90% for most working-age adult groups.
Shortages of hundreds of thousands of units
This echoed the findings of the previous government’s 2023 Supported Housing Review, which was told that local authority funding had not kept pace with rising costs for many years, meaning providers had struggled to maintain provision.
At the same time, it reported that 90% of commissioners felt the budget assigned for supported housing by their council was insufficient to meet local demand, with half indicating there was a lot or some unmet need in their areas.
From 2003-2009, supported housing in England was funded through a ring-fenced grant, Supporting People, but this was subsequently rolled into wider local authority funding and its level cut.
The review concluded that 91,100 more units were needed to address unmet need for services for working-age adults in Great Britain, while 88,600-297,000 more were needed to ensure sufficient provision for older people.
Impact of supported housing
In their letter, the sector leaders highlighted other NHF research, published in 2023, showing the value of supported housing in England. This found that, were it not for supported housing:
- There would be an increase in core homelessness of around 41,000 people, with a further 30,000 more people at significant risk of future homelessness.
- There would be a need for an additional 14,000 inpatient psychiatric places, 2,500 places in specialist residential care and 2,000 extra prison spaces.
In their letter to Starmer and Reeves, the leaders of the sector bodies, including the NHF, Local Government Association and the National Care Forum, said: “Following years of funding cuts under the previous government, local authorities have been forced to decommission vital services.
“Rising costs alongside reduced funding have rendered many services unviable, forcing many to close, while demand for supported housing continues to rise.”
They said the situation had been exacerbated by last month’s rise in employer national insurance contributions, which had placed added pressures on providers’ budgets.
Call for more funding and target to grow sector
They said the spending review, which will report in June, setting public expenditure limits for 2026-29, was a “vital opportunity” for the government to “rejuvenate supported housing” and place the sector on a more sustainable position.
Specifically, they called for:
- Long-term and increased funding for housing-related support of at least £1.6bn per year for local authorities.
- A commitment to deliver more supported homes by 2040, with clear funding in the government’s affordable homes programme.
